Out of the Ashes
by revolution rae
Summary: Life is messy and painful, but it can be beautiful, too. Nextgen drabble/oneshot collection.
1. Phoenix

**Disclaimer: I have no rights.**

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><p>Nineteen people sat in a vague circle-like shape on the beach in the middle of the night. An almost full moon hung low over the group. They ranged in age from ten to twenty, and they were the children of the Weasleys, Potters, Scamandars, Longbottoms, Lupins, and Malfoys. The eldest, Teddy Lupin, stood up and, his bright blue hair almost glowing, began to speak.<p>

"Thanks for coming out here, everyone," he said, smiling at everyone. There was a general murmur of acknowledgement, and then he went on. "We should have had this meeting a long time ago, but it's been hard. Even now not everyone's here."

"Who isn't?" asked Albus Potter, who was twelve.

"The other Slytherins," replied Molly Weasley, who was going into her fifth year in the Slytherin House.

"Some of my friends," added Lily, Albus's younger sister, who was ten.

"Okay, let's not get into a list," Teddy called over the erupting conversations. "Basically, the people who are harder to reach in the summer. But we have nineteen, and we can spread it to our friends too. Me and Victoire won't have too many people to tell, but the rest of you can tell during school."

He paused. The crash of waves could be heard clearly, and somebody coughed quietly.

"Me, Victoire, Rose, Nelson, and Dom came up with this. We wanted to talk about who we are, as a generation. What we mean. You know?" he hesitated, a little embarrassed. "Our parents... Their whole lives were spent fighting Voldemort. They gave up their teenage years. What we have now, they didn't. They were, you know, a tragedy. Harry and Ron were talking to me about this a few weeks ago, which gave me the original idea. They told me they were proud of how I've lived my life so far, and they were glad I had the chance."

Victoire stood up. "Mum and Dad said a lot of the same things to me the day after I graduated. They were talking about us - all of us, all their kids - having the chances we do. We aren't soldiers. We're really, really lucky."

"Exactly," Teddy agreed. "And I think some of us have been taking that for granted." James looked down, embarrassed, and Scorpius bit his lip. Teddy continued. "But even though they had such a hard time, they came out alive. Most of them did, I mean. Some didn't..." He closed his eyes briefly. "But the ones who did, they got on. They made it. They had us. They could have chosen to stop everything, to just let it go. To be too scared to let life go on. They weren't. They made a whole new generation. A new chance. For all of us."

"Out of the ashes of their lives, we rose," Victoire said softly. "We are phoenixes, born from fire, making the world a better place."

"It's our turn to live," Teddy said seriously, his voice ringing through the silent group. "We have to live for them too, not just us. We have a responsibility to them. We need to make our lives worth what they went through to give it to us."

Dominique, Nelson, and Rose stood up. "So we need to make a pact," Dominique told their listeners. "To make sure we do things right."

"To be brave and strong and happy. To make our parents proud," added Nelson.

"To take advantage of the opportunities we have. The ones our parents didn't," Victoire explained.

"We can't waste it," Rose finished.

"Everyone, stand," Teddy said. The others obeyed. As one, almost as though they were reading each others' minds, they joined hands.

"We so swear," Victoire said, strength in her quiet voice.

"We so swear," the rest echoed. Then there was a brief silence, but no one let broke the circle.

None of them ever knew who started, or at least no one ever admitted it, but someone raised their wand and shot off golden sparks. As everyone else followed suit, the sky became aglow with all the different colors.

_And in this way, nineteen phoenixes rose from the ashes of the past; and they held true to their pact; and forever the sky shone with their light._


	2. Friends

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights.

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><p><strong>Pairing: <strong>Rose/Scorpius **-(friendship)-**

**Year: **Sixth

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><p>"I'm just so sick of them, Scorpius. They think I'm supposed to be exactly like Mum, and it's not <em>fair.<em>"

"That sucks."

"Yeah, it does. I mean, you see how everyone treats Hugo. It's like, _oh, he's a bloke, I bet he's like his dad._ But for me, they're like, _oh, a girl, she's a stuck-up bookworm who has no sense of humor and is totally bossy_. And I'm not, I'm nothing like her!"

"..."

"What? What the hell does '...' mean? You think I'm _like_ her, don't you?"

"No, no, it's just... Well, first of all, your mum isn't totally like that, and -"

"Don't you _dare_ tell me you're one of those guys who thinks she's hot -"

"_And_ second of all, you _are_ like her. You're completely brilliant, you're entirely loyal. You have about two girl friends and three hundred guy ones."

"True, I guess... But I'm not like her! I'm like Dad!"

"Yeah, in the fact that you get pissed off really fast and it makes your ears turn red. And you like good pranks."

"And I play good pranks."

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Shut up, I do!"

"Fine, fine, if you insist."

"Oh, shut up, you jerk. Okay, we've got to go to Charms now. I still don't know why Professor Rinker let you in after your practical O.W.L."

"That was just rude. I did fine."

"You turned the tester's hair green and made her laugh for sixteen days straight. That's not fine."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"Hey! Stop - stop that! You're not allowed to - gahh!"

"Don't insult me and I won't tickle you."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

"Loser."

"Granger."

"Shut up! I'm not like her! Now, let's go. We'll be late."

"I win."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do so."

"Don't forget your Charms textbook."

"I've already got it."

"Okay. Let's go."

"Okay."


	3. First Year

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**A/N: **My obsessive nature just took over. I'd like to inform those reading this that I just mapped out the nextgen. I included names, ages, birthdays, Houses, and their first year at Hogwarts. I had to make up birthdays, of course, and some middle names, but it's all accurate. As in, it follows the epilogue, and I did my best to follow JKR's statements. I made up the Longbottom children, though. So you better appreciate it:)

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><p><strong>Characters: <strong>Roxanne Weasley, Molly Weasley, Jennifer Longbottom

**Year: **Roxanne's 1st; Molly and Jennifer's 5th

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><p>"I just don't understand," I said, my voice shaking. "We've been best friends since - since <em>forever<em>. Ever since we first met when we were babies. We have the same birthday." I started to cry. Molly patted my shoulder consolingly.

"It's going to be okay," Jenny said kindly. "It's your first year, and she hasn't had much time to adjust to this yet. It's hard for Gryffindors and Slytherins to mingle."

"But it's not supposed to matter!" I buried my head in my arms and cried. I knew Jenny and Molly were exchanging a look over my head. That was what best friends did. That was what Lily and I always did. The thought made me cry harder.

Lily and I had sworn to be best mates for the rest of our lives. But we were only eleven and already she had forgotten that. It was the December of our first year at Hogwarts. She'd been Sorted into Gryffindor, and I'd been put in Slytherin. She'd been ignoring me every since.

"I know it's not supposed to matter, sweetie," Molly agreed. "But to some people it does. You know how Lily is. We all do. She's a lot like Aunt Ginny. But she'll come around. She just has to get used to the idea."

"_I_ didn't have to get used to the idea. I don't even care! We're still the same people. I wish I was a Gryffindor too!" I said angrily.

"No, you don't. Or else you would have been Sorted there. You don't really want to be arrogant and loud and thoughtless, do you?" Jenny giggled. "I mean, I absolutely adore Sarah and some of her friends, but if I'd been Sorted into Gryffindor with her, I don't know what I'd do."

"But you're twins. Don't you miss seeing her all the time?" I asked.

"Merlin, no. Like I said, I love her to death. But she's so... so... Well, we're different people. We still get along wonderfully, but that doesn't mean we have to live together all year round," Jenny explained.

"But that's not what Lily thinks. The last time we talked she said she hated me! Because she hates _all _Slytherins. She's my best mate, I can't hate her! How could she hate me?" I started bawling again, and Molly sighed and gave me a hug.

"She'll come around, Roxanne," she assured me. "Talk to her over the holidays. She's a good kid. You both are. She just doesn't know how to react yet. But for now, try getting to know some first year Slytherins so you have new people to talk to. Okay?"

"Okay," I sniffled.

"Now, get some sleep! We've only got a few days of classes left. Dad will kill me if he sees you looking tired when we go home, because Uncle George and Aunt Ange will be angry at him. Promise to try to make new friends?" Molly stood up, and Jenny followed suit.

"I promise," I said sadly.

"Things will get better," Jenny told me. "They always do. Good night, kid."

"Night, you two. Thanks for the advice and everything," I said. Molly smiled.

"See you in the morning." Then, she and Jenny left my dormitory. I curled up on my side on my bed and cried myself to sleep.


	4. Sabotage

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

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><p><strong>Pairing: <strong>Victoire Weasley & Nelson Longbottom

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><p>It wasn't as big a deal as everyone made it out to be. I was in fifth, he was in fourth, and I had a <em>huge<em> crush on that boy. We were both on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. I was a Chaser and he was a Keeper. And I mean, it's practically _required_ to try a relationship with someone on the team. Plus, he was just so cute, with his hazel eyes and his chestnut hair and his tan skin... Everyone admitted it. Nelson Longbottom, son of the Herbology professor. He looked kind of like I imagined Neville did when he was younger. (I'm not supposed to call him Neville during the school year, but it's a hard habit to break.)

Well, I told my friend Ashleigh that I had a crush on him, and she told Dominique, and Dom told one of her friends. And I assume that friend told Nelson. A few days after I told Ashleigh, Nelson walked up to me after training and asked me to Hogsmeade. I, of course, agreed. The next Hogsmeade weekend, we went to the Three Broomsticks. (He wanted Madame Puttifoot's, but I said NO WAY.) We ended up kissing. Well, kissing a _lot._ Some people saw, a big deal was made. Someone told Dad - probably Louis, it was his first year - and Dad flipped out. He told me I was too young to be dating. It turned into this huge fiasco, Mum and Dad got in a roaring fight over it. She said I was old enough, he said I wasn't...

Well, eventually Mum won. (She always does.) But after one or two more dates, Nelson said we were too different, and that someone had threatened him anyway. So we broke up. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be; we stayed friends and everything. He never would tell me who it was that threatened him. It wasn't my dad, which was my first thought. And it wasn't any of my cousins.

Oh well. Perhaps some mysteries are best left unsolved, as I'd probably have hexed whoever it was into oblivion. I may be a Ravenclaw, but that doesn't mean I didn't inherit my parents' tempers!


	5. Lesson Learned

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

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><p><strong>Pairing: <strong>Theodore Lupin & Victoire Weasley

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><p>I was twenty-one when I told her, and she was nineteen. We'd been truly dating for about eight months; before that, it had been an on-again, off-again type of thing. It was a hot July day and we were out eating ice cream at a little parlor in a village in Spain. We were travelling Europe together, and we were considering expanding out trip to the Americas as well. She had strawberry, just like always, and I had a strange blueberry flavor called "an august night." I always tried an original flavor, no matter what the food was.<p>

Anyway, we were talking about our friends. She was going on about Dom's secret relationship. Victoire and Dom usually shared everything with each other, despite how different they were. But this time, Dom wasn't talking. We segued into funny stories about the family. And for some reason (only Merlin knows what I was thinking) I decided to tell her. Apparently I didn't value my life.

"You remember when you dated Nelson Longbottom?" I asked her. She rolled her blue-gray eyes, her bell-like laugh chiming.

"Of course. I still can't believe I bothered!" I laughed too, lulled into a false sense of security by her amusement at the memory.

"Well, you know how he broke it off pretty quickly?" I continued, smirking and running a hand through my (currently) green hair.

She looked a little annoyed, and I started to wonder if I was making a bad decision. "Yeah, I do. I still don't know who it was that threatened him." I grinned at her, feeling a little nervous. It took her a moment to catch on; then her eyes widened as she got it. "Oh my god. It was _you_? _You_ told him to dump me?"

I chuckled, now entirely certain this had been a stupid idea. "Yeah, pretty much. I fancied you even then. Course, I didn't know you as well, so it wasn't like now, but -"

"_You_ are a complete and utter PRICK!" she suddenly screamed at me, standing up and dumping her ice cream. "I can't _believe_ you!"

"I - I - but that was years ago!" I exclaimed. "Surely you're not angry?"

"Angry? Do I _look_ angry?" she shouted. "NO! I am absolutely bloody furious! If you fancied me, you should have asked me out, not made my boyfriend break up with me! Oh, my god!" And before I had a chance to answer, she stormed away. I was annoyed, but decided I was lucky to have escaped with my limbs intact.

It took about three days for her to forgive me. Eventually it became a story to laugh at, but for a long time I was terrified to even mention Nelson. And when we were all three in the same room together... Oh, that gave me nightmares.

Suffice it to say, I learned my lesson. And believe me when I tell you, I _definitely _never told her about the time I bribed Robert Macmillan to break up with her!


	6. Spying

**Characters: **Victoire & Dominique Weasley

**Ages:** 10 & 8

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><p>Two blonde girls crouched by the closed door of their parents' bedroom.<p>

"Dom! Sh!" whispered the slightly taller one. "We can't let them hear us, we're spies."

"I know," replied the other. "I'm not daft, Vic." Then they both stopped talking and, holding back giggles with apparent difficulty, strained to hear the conversation spilling from behind the door. At first the sounds were muffled, but as Victoire and Dominique stopped shuffling around, they began to hear their parents more clearly.

"I'm just glad they did not take after me, Bill," Fleur sighed. Her accent was far less noticeable than in the past, but she was still unmistakably French.

"But they did, they're both beautiful and talented, just like you," Bill said, a smile in his voice.

"That is not what I mean. Of course they are both wonderful, but it is their own," Fleur explained. The closet door squeaked as it opened.

"Of course it's their own. What does that have to do with you?" Bill asked, puzzled. Drawers opened and shut.

"They do not have to rely on the charm of the veela to be who they are," Fleur said slowly, closing the closet. "They will not have to grow up wondering if they deserve the things they are given or what they take. They will know they earned their gifts."

"You deserve everything you're given," Bill said firmly. "You're not wonderful because you're part veela. You're wonderful because you're _you_."

"I know that now," Fleur assured him, laughing softly. "But for much of my life I would not trust anyone who smiled at me or gave me anything, because I thought they were just being... overwhelmed by my ancestry. It was not something I could cause at will. People are affected more or less strongly by me depending on their own will and... I am not sure how to say it... sense of self."

"I never knew that. You never told me that," Bill said thoughtfully.

"I can see it in someone's eyes," Fleur continued. "Whether they are looking at me or only my grandmother's blood."

"No one should ever do that. I want everyone to see you as Fleur Weasley," Bill told her. There was no sound for a moment, then Fleur spoke again.

"I am just glad the girls and Louis will not have to be concerned with such things. There are some who may still be drawn in only by the veela, but not many. Victoire has more of it than Dominique does, but it is not strong in either of them. They should be safe from... those who would prey on pretty girls."

"Oh, they will be," Bill said roughly. "I'll make bloody sure of that."

Fleur laughed again. "They are lucky to have you as a father."

"They're lucky they've got you as a mother," he countered.

Sitting there by the door, Victoire rolled her eyes and stood. "Come on, Dom," she ordered. "This is really boring. Let's go spy on Uncle Charlie again. He's always doing fun stuff." Dominique, however, didn't answer. She was still staring at the door, her eyes lost. It was a strangely dark expression for such a young girl. "Come _on!_" Victoire repeated, pulling her sister up. "He's leaving tomorrow, we need to spy _now_!"

"Oh, okay," Dominique said distantly. She shook her head once, then ran off laughing with her sister to eavesdrop on Charlie.

Victoire forgot the conversation not long after it was over. It hadn't made much of an impression on her, perhaps because she wasn't interested in her veela blood. Dominique, too, soon put the whole thing out of her mind. However, it stayed in her subconscience much longer - the idea that she was less appealing than her elder sister. But not forever. Certainly not forever.


	7. Crushes

**Characters: **Scorpius Malfoy & Rose Weasley - Friendship (& a touch of something else)

**Year: **Two

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><p>It was a warm, breezy day in mid-May. Scorpius and I were sitting by the lake, talking about Transfiguration. I was trying to read while we talked, but I was eating an apple and the juice kept dripping onto the pages, so I threw the book down in defeat.<p>

Scorpius seemed slightly distracted and was doodling in his sketchbook, stretched out on the ground. He was nodding and saying "yeah" a lot, so I caught on that he wasn't listening.

"Okay, what's up, Scorpius?" I asked, folding my arms. "What's going on?"

He sat up and looked at me, his eyes serious. "Rose... Can you please keep a secret? Even from, like, you know, Geoff and Randall?"

Normally, I would have been annoyed that he had to ask, but he seemed genuinely upset. "Of course. Now what's wrong?"

He looked at the ground, then shoved his drawing my way. I picked up the well-worn book and took a look at the quick pencil sketches. The one on the page it was open to showed Draco Malfoy with his arm around Astoria Malfoy's waist, Scorpius standing off to the side staring at the two. Nothing seemed unusual with it. I gave my friend a quizzical glance. He motioned me to flip to the next page, so I did.

It was the same scene, only this time, Astoria's stomach was bulging and Scorpius was not in the picture at all. I gaped at him. "Your mum is _pregnant_?" I asked him, shocked. He nodded miserably. "But you're twelve, you'll be almost fourteen when it's born then, won't you?"

"I'll only be thirteen," he said. "Only thirteen."

It dawned on me why he hadn't drawn himself in the second sketch. "You don't think they'll stop loving you, do you?" I asked. He looked away silently. I felt the urge to laugh at the idea, but held it back out of kindness. "Trust me, they won't. Mum and Dad love me and Hugo. And all my uncles and aunts are the same. We've got a lot of kids. Of course they'll still love you!"

He sighed. "You don't get it. Why would they have another kid thirteen years after me? Because I failed them, that's why. Because I'm a Ravenclaw and my dad wanted a Slytherin, I _know_ he did. And Mum wants a daughter, if that's what they get she'll forget me in a second." The words rushed out of him as though he'd been bottling them up for quite awhile. "They hate me, Rose, they must. I'm a complete disappointment to them, and all I want is for them to love me. But I can't say that because I'm the _son_. It's not fair!" He was breathless by the end of his little rant.

I quickly made sure no one was looking our way - we both had our pride - and then gave him a hug. He shrugged away pretty quickly, but I knew it cheered him a bit. "I promise they won't stop loving you. First of all, you _showed_ me the letter they sent last year about getting in Ravenclaw. They were completely proud of you! And even if your mum _does_ want a daughter, so what? Now she might get to have one of each. They probably didn't mean to get pregnant." He looked confused. "What? You've never heard of an accident? _I_ was an accident!" I grinned at the look on his face. "Think about that for awhile. And don't worry," I told him earnestly. "I promise they love you, even if they don't say it." I leaned in for one more quick hug.

Unfortunately, as soon as I did that, a chorus behind us broke out into "Ooooh, Scorpius and Rose!" Several of our friends, including Geoff, Randall, and this girl Amanda, plopped down next to us, smirking. Poor Scorpius blushed a delicate pink from the roots of his hair to the tips of his ears. I found it hysterical and cracked up with the rest of them.

"Shut it," Scorpius mattered, slamming his sketchbook closed and storming away. We, obviously, found this even funnier and laughed harder than ever. Of course, I found it particularly funny because I knew Scorpius fancied Amanda, and he knew I fancied Geoff.

"He's not acutally _mad_, is he?" asked Amanda, looking worried for an instant. I rolled my eyes.

"Of course not, he's just embarrassed," I assured her.

"Oh, good," she responded, looking at him dreamily. As everyone else began teasing her, I felt annoyed and maybe a little jealous.

But no, that couldn't be right. I did _not_ fancy Scorpius Malfoy. No. Bloody. Way.


	8. Misunderstandings and Floo Powder

**Characters: **Dominique Weasley && Charlie Weasley

**Year: **Seventh

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><p>"I don't know how to tell you," I said quietly. "But I need to... admit this sometime, and you seem to be the best person to tell." I tucked my long blonde hair behind my ears, then began inspecting my nails closely, avoiding Uncle Charlie's eyes.<p>

"You know you can talk to any of us, Dom," he reminded me. "You're not going to get in trouble for anything."

Something about the way he was speaking made me suspicious. "Do you already, um, know what I'm going to tell you?" I looked at his lined face, both scared and hopeful. His face was drawn and a little unhappy.

"I think I do, kid," he responded. My stomach dropped as I caught the disapproval in his voice.

"You're not - you're not _mad_, are you?" I asked, feeling slightly sick and also kind of angry.

"I'm not mad. You're old enough to take responsibility for yourself. I think it was a bad decision on your part," he said. I stood up, sending my chair flying backwards, and gripped the edge of the table so hard my knuckles turned white.

"It's not something I just _decided_, Uncle Charlie," I snapped. "I can't help it!"

He raised his eyebrows, and I could see how difficult it was for him to remain calm - we had the same Weasley temper. "You bloody well could have," he retorted. "Come on, take some responsibility. You're of age, it's not like your parents can really punish you properly anymore!"

I glared at him. "It's not something to be punished for!"

"Yeah, sure. It's completely irresponsible, you're not old enough for this!" I threw my hands in the air in exasperation.

"Excuse me, there's no _age_ when you're suddenly like, 'hey, I might be gay!'" I shouted, then winced. Hopefully my parents hadn't heard.

Uncle Charlie's jaw dropped and he stared at me. "_What_ did you say?" he demanded, and I gave him a look.

"You know what I said. I'm _gay_, Uncle Charlie. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You said you knew," I said, confused. He shook his head.

"I thought you were _pregnant_ or something, you spend so much time with that Finnigan kid," Uncle Charlie explained. I laughed, shocked.

"Ew, me and _Shawn_? That's not even, that's just gross," I said, relieved that we'd just had a misunderstanding and he hadn't condemned me. Yet. "He's just a friend."

"Oh, well that's good, then," Uncle Charlie said, sighing. Then he squinted at me. "Wait. Back up. You - you're, um..."

"I'm gay," I said quietly, looking down at my feet. "I don't know how to tell my parents."

Uncle Charlie drummed his fingers on the table. "You're absolutely _sure_?"

"Yes, I'm sure! You know you like girls. You don't have to _think_ about it," I said, upset. He held his hands up.

"Okay, I get it. I just wanted to make sure this wasn't, I don't know, a phase," he muttered. I snorted. He continued, "I don't know how you're going to tell your parents. I know Bill won't care, and I'm sure Fleur will be fine with it, too. But it's going to come as a shock."

"Yeah, you think I don't know that?" I muttered.

"So why did you tell me first?" he asked. "I can't exactly relate."

"I don't know. I always tell you stuff. And besides, er, you live in Romania. So if you didn't like it I wouldn't have to face you as often," I explained, a little embarrassed.

"Well, we don't have to worry about that. I'm not going to disown you just because you fancy girls. I can understand _that_ completely. Especially when they -" Then he looked at me and cleared his throat, blushing. "Never mind, you're a bit young to hear my stories."

I giggled. "I'm not sure I even want to know."

"You probably don't," he confirmed. "Anyway, I suggest taking your parents aside some evening and just sitting them down and having a talk. Er... butter them up first. Make them dinner, do lots of extra chores, that sort of thing. Soften them a bit."

I nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Do you want me there with you when you tell them?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No. I just need to do it, you know? Like when you told Gran and Grandpa you were going to Romania," I said.

"Well, keep me updated. Let me know when you tell them, how they react. And remember - if you need to get away for a few days, I'm only a floo away," Uncle Charlie said reassuringly, clapping my shoulder.

"Thanks, Uncle Charlie," I said, smiling, feeling like a huge weight had lifted from my chest.

"Anytime, Dominique," he replied. He hugged me, then said, "I need to go back now. I work tomorrow, so I need to sleep tonight. Tell your dad and the others I said hi, and I'll see them in a few weeks."

"I will," I said. He stretched, then strode to the fireplace and threw floo powder in. He waved good-bye one last time, then stepped in and left. "Okay," I said to myself. "I can do this. Tomorrow. I'll tell them tomorrow. I mean what's the worst they'll do? Cry? Be disappointed? Kick me out, maybe." I made a face and hoped sincerely that would never come to pass. "It won't," I murmured. "It _can't_."


	9. Letting it Go

**Disclaimer: **I have no rights.

**Characters: **Sarah Longbottom & Nelson Longbottom

**Year: **2018 - Sarah's Fourth, Nelson's Seventh

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><p>Sarah stared at the overflowing pages of her notebook blankly, hardly able to remember writing the resentful words scrawled across it. Nelson also regarded it, but his eyes were full of shock, pain, and confusion at his little sister's journal.<p>

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" he finally asked her, hardly above a whisper. His normally tan skin was pale, and he was clenching and unclenching his fists.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders and tried to smile. "It's not, you know. A huge deal. I mean, it is. But I'm handling it." She smiled, her dimples appearing full-force. "See?" She shut the book and ran left hand through long brown hair.

Nelson reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Sarah, you're only fifteen. I can't believe you've been hiding this so long. Two years. Merlin, no wonder you've been so..." He trailed off for a moment, contemplating. "Alone," he eventually finished.

Sarah's lip trembled and the smile faded as she squeezed his hand back. "It's been really hard," she admitted, looking down.

A tear slid down Nelson's cheek, although he was not a very expressive person. "Do you want to talk to Mum and Dad?" he asked hesitantly. "They'll know what to do."

Sarah shook her head resolutely. "It would hurt them too much. This is Uncle Jay we're talking about, Nelson. He's one of Mum's best friends. And it was only twice. It could be so much worse. And it hasn't been for a long time." The words were falling over each other. "I'm sorry I told you, I shouldn't have. Now you've got this to worry about on top of N.E.W.T.s. I'm sorry." She was shaking.

"We have to tell someone," Nelson said firmly, wiping his eyes and standing up. He looked at his sister across their kitchen table. "And before holidays are over. He was just here last night!" The tall boy slammed his fist on the table. "Last night. Christmas. And he bloody looked you in the eye, looked me and Dad and Mum and Jen in the eyes. I'll..." He stopped, seeing the fear in his sister's blue eyes. "Don't apologize, Sarah. Please don't. You have nothing to apologize for. _He_ does. He belongs in Azkaban. With dementors sucking his soul. If he even has one." He chuckled bitterly.

They looked at each other in silence for a few minutes. Then, Sarah pushed her notebook across the wood to him and looked down. "Please tell them for me," she whispered, almost inaudible. "I just... I can't stand to see the look on Mum's face. She's known him so long. And Dad."

Nelson slowly picked up the journal. "I will. Tonight. I swear."

"Thanks," she said, even more quietly. "For this. Thanks."

Nelson hurried around the table to his fifteen-year-old sister. "You know I'm here for you, Sarah. Always. If anything like this ever happens again, you have to tell me. Don't let yourself suffer so long. I'm your brother. I'm here to protect you." Then he reached his arms out and hugged her.

And for the first time in two years, Sarah Longbottom cried.


	10. The Moment

**Disclaimer: **I am still a teenage girl living in the US. Therefore, I would consider it logical to assume I have no rights to the

**Pairing: **Albus Potter && Cass Ackerston

**Year: **Albus's sixth; Cass's seventh.

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><p>When Albus walked in, Cass was sitting against a bookshelf, her knees to her chest, gasping and sobbing hysterically. He halted, unsure of what to do. Cass Ackerston was the kind of girl who was always smiling and offering advice. He'd never seen her so upset, and it absolutely terrified him. And he could have walked away - James probably would've, not knowing how to handle depth - but Albus wasn't that type. If a girl he fancied was crying, he was going to try to comfort her. Even if he had no clue how to do that.<p>

So, the stocky boy crouched beside the blonde girl. "What's wrong?" he asked, widening green eyes at her.

"It's my dad," she cried. "He - he - he's dead!" She buried her face in her arms, though it barely muffled her delirious sobs.

Albus had no idea what to do. He knew better than anyone how much it hurt when a parent died. But he didn't know how to help her. "I'm sorry," he said softly. She didn't respond, only cried harder.

Hesitating slightly, he bit his lip. Then, he manned up and wrapped his arms around her. She collapsed into him. He held her silently, letting her cry as hard as she wanted. It was the only thing he could do.

That was the moment Albus Severus Potter fell in love with Casseiopia Belinda Ackerston. It wasn't the countless instances of laughter and joy, but when she was most vulnerable - when he felt the fierce need within himself to protect her, to save her from her own misery. That was when he knew he loved her.


	11. Interference

**disclaima: **i am right-less. :)

**characters: **Lily Luna Potter (9), Teddy Lupin (19), and Ginny Potter.

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><p>Lily sat with her back to the kitchen door, listening to the voices from within. She didn't quite know how she'd done it, but she could hear everything being said, although Teddy and Mum were whispering.<p>

"Aunt Ginny, I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to come to you about it. But I have to," Teddy was saying hesitantly.

"You know you can come to me about anything, Ted," Mum said, a smile in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"It's... It's about Lily," Teddy said slowly.

"Is something the matter?" Mum asked immediately, worried.

"No, no. Of course not. Well. It's more about, er, you. And Lily. Both," Teddy tried to explain. Lily bit her lip. She knew what he was talking to her about, and she was terrified of what Mum would think. Lily didn't want to make her sad.

"Go on," Ginny said from the kitchen.

"Look, Aunt Ginny, things have changed in the past few years. I asked Uncle Harry, but he said not to worry about it. And I wouldn't, except for Lily." He paused. Lily could picture him examining his hands, as he often did when nervous. "It's... It's your drinking, Aunt Ginny."

"Teddy. Listen to Harry. It's not your concern," Mum cut in, her voice hard.

"No, no, I have to finish!" Teddy said, stronger now. "You're scaring Lily. A lot. It's bad enough for the boys, but at least they have school. And Uncle Harry spends all his time working, so a lot of the time it's just you and Lily in the house now. She can't spend every day with Roxy or the others."

"Theodore," Mum said warningly. But he didn't stop it.

"It's not healthy! She's basically alone here all day, because you spend all your time getting loaded! It's wrong, Aunt Ginny! You're her _mother_, you can't abandon her like this! I'm worried about her, okay? She's like a sister to me, and you're not taking care of her." He took a deep breath. "If things don't get better, I'm going to have to notify someone from the Ministry. Uncle Harry is blind to it, he doesn't want to admit you have a problem -"

"Because I don't! Theodore Lupin, it is not your place to tell me how to raise my children," Mum shouted. Lily could hear them perfectly now without her accidental magic.

"Raise them?" Teddy laughed harshly. "Aunt Ginny, I walked in today and Lily was making you a hangover remedy! She's _nine_! Last week she was locked out until three in the morning because Uncle Harry was on a raid and you were out drinking! Can't you see how wrong that is?"

When Mum spoke again, her voice was cold. "Get out of my house. You can't come in here and try to tell me how to raise my daughter! It's none of your business. And don't you dare turn this into a child abuse thing. I love my kids with all my heart and soul!"

"I know you do," Teddy said quietly. "That doesn't make this okay. You can get help for alcoholism, Aunt Ginny. I'm scared for you, too, not just Lily. You're ill. You're killing yourself."

Mum said nothing, but Lily heard her swish to the kitchen door. Lily scooted out of the way just in time as Mum banged open the door. Teddy sighed, stood, and exited. He stopped by Lily.

"It's going to get better," he said. Then he gave her a swift hug and left.

Mum waited for the front door to shut before kneeling by Lily. "Lils. You know I love you, right?" Lily nodded silently. "I would never hurt you, okay? I love you so much. And..." She sighed. "I'm going to stop drinking, okay? Things will get better. It will be like when you were little." Then she hugged Lily and walked upstairs, probably to try and Floo Dad.

Lily didn't bother mentioning that she was only nine, and were little until you went to Hogwarts, anyway. Or that it wasn't the first time Mum promised to stop drinking. She meant well, but Lily knew how much drinking mattered to her. Maybe more than anything else.

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><p><strong>an: **I know there's nothing in the books to hint at this. But that's the way it goes. Also, the next few chapters might revolve mostly around this particular plotline while it's still fresh on my list of inspiration. :)

**p.s.**: Sorry for any Ginny-lovers out there. She's one of my favorite characters, to be honest with you, but this is the way she has to be.


	12. Second Choice

**Disclaimer: **I have no rights.

**Character: **Holly Jordan, 1st year (2011)

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><p>She's my cousin. She doesn't even know it, but she is my cousin. Dad made me promise ages ago not to tell anyone who my mother is. The only ones who know are me, my parents, and Dad's friend George. Technically my uncle, actually. But I'm not allowed to tell anyone that.<p>

So I watch Victoire Weasley get Sorted into Ravenclaw, envy and resentment boiling deep within me - I was just put into Hufflepuff. She's had a happy life. Two parents. Siblings. And now she gets the poetic House. Me? I'm alone. Just me and Dad. He hasn't even dated again, since he and my mum broke up. I got him to tell me about it once, when he was really drunk. Said he dated her for awhile after she got out of school. Turns out he was second choice, though. She left him to be with - get this - the Chosen One. Harry Effing Potter. So I guess I actually have siblings. Three of them. They just don't know I exist. I know about them, though. James, Albus, and Lily. Another way I'm different - I'm not named after anyone. They're all named after corpses. I'm named after a bloody plant. Kind of messed up when you think about it, though - she named her two kids after her husband's parents. That's practically asking for incest.

My shrink says I use sarcasm and hostility as a defense. Guess she's right. What an effing genius.


	13. Grief

**Characters: **James II && Molly II

**Year: **2022 - their seventh.

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><p>James and I were strolling through Hogsmeade. It was a cold December afternoon not long before the holiday break. We'd just left the Three Broomsticks and we were chatting about our large extended family. Well, gossiping may have been a better way to put it.<p>

"Did you see the way Dominique was looking at Sarah Longbottom in there? I'm _telling _you, she fancies her!" I insisted, laughing. I'd had my theory about Dominique for years, but no one else seemed to see it. Even now, James was shaking his head and rolling her eyes.

"I wouldn't blame her for it, I can't see why anyone would want a guy when there's a girl like Sarah in the room, but no way," he said.

"Oh, come on, it's so obvious!" I insisted. Instead of the reply I expected - something lighthearted - James suddenly looked very distant and sad. After a moment, I cleared my throat. "James? You alright?"

He jerked his gaze over to me. "What? Yeah, yeah. I was just... thinking."

"What about?" I prodded gently.

And that was it. All of a sudden, he covered his eyes with his hands, but he couldn't hide it - he was crying. Tears began to slide down his cheeks, freezing before they dripped from his chin. My own eyes widened; I had no idea how to handle this. So I led him to the side of the path and sat him down "James, what's wrong?" I demanded.

He tried to hold back a sob, probably trying to preserve his image. I'd never seen or heard James cry, and neither had anyone else, as far as I knew. Not even at his mum's funeral. "It's nothing," he choked out.

"James. You're practically bawling. Don't worry, everyone else is sensible enough to be inside," I assured him. "You can tell me what's wrong."

"It's - I was just thinking about my mum," he said, dropping his hands and looking away. I could see the tracks of frozen tears on his cheeks, but they seemed to have stopped coming altogether. "She loved winter."

"Oh," I exhaled, unsure of what to say. I hadn't known Aunt Ginny very well. By the time I was old enough to get to know the adults better, she had already begun deteriorating. I couldn't even imagine what James was going through, let alone think of a way to comfort him.

Fortunately, he didn't wait for me to say anything. "We used to make snow angels together, when I was really little," he said. "And snowball fights. This one time her and me, we flew through a snowstorm. That was when I was, I dunno, thirteen. Fourteen. Dad flipped his lid, when we got back. Said she totally endangered me." He sighed. "That was after she'd gotten worse. With her drinking."

"James, you don't have to talk about it," I told him.

"Yeah. I never do, though," he whispered.

It was true. In the past two years, he hadn't seemed to grieve at all. He'd simply gotten louder and more arrogant - as impossible as that had seemed - after she died. None of us had ever heard him talk about her. Except maybe Lily or Albus. I hadn't spoken to them about it much, either. I just didn't know how.

"You can with me. If you want," I offered hesitantly.

"Thanks," he said. Then he stood up and laughed. "Never mind. Let's go somewhere, I heard they let students get firewhiskey at the Hog's Head, if you pay extra!" He ran ahead of me before I could say anything else. I followed him more slowly. I thought he might just want some time to calm down, get back into his usual self.

Now I knew, though, that he was hurting, too. It was both heavy and flattering, that he would let his guard down with me. We'd always been close, despite the House barrier.

By the time I caught up with him, he'd fallen into a group of students our age - a fairly even mixture of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Crazy, what a family as big as ours could do. Sometimes I thought our most impressive feat was managing to make Slytherins and Gryffindors play nicely together.

I joined in the banter of the group as we headed towards Zonko's - no firewhiskey after all - but I was watching James out of the corner of my eye. He was laughing and joking more exuberantly than usual. Too proud to show his own pain. Typical Gryffindor.

Ah, well. I would be there for him from now on, whether he liked it or not.


	14. Scars

**disclaima: **i am right-less. :)

**characters: **hugo weasley (six) ; rose weasley (eight)

**a/n: **i know it was only in the movie that bellatrix did this to hermione, but i wanted to write about it.

* * *

><p>Hugo looked at his older sister curiously. "Rose?" he said, his voice tilting up at the end. "Why does Mum have that on her arm?"<p>

Rose glared. "Shh!" she snapped. "She won't want to hear you say that." She folded her arms and looked over at their parents. The family of four was at the beach, and they were all wearing swimsuits. Rose had also seen the ugly scars on her mother's exposed flesh, but she hadn't commented on it.

Hugo obediently spoke in a whisper. "Don't you know?"

"Of course I do," insisted Rose. Then she bit her lip. "I asked Dom. She didn't want to tell me, but I bothered her till she did."

Her brother rolled his eyes. "Well, tell me then!" he demanded. Rose shook her head.

"I don't think you want to know," she replied. Hugo pouted.

"I do, tell me!" he said, his voice rising.

Rose quickly waved her hands at him. "Okay, okay!" she said. "Just don't be so loud! And don't ever tell Mum or Dad I told you. Promise." She held out her pinky, and the two linked fingers.

"Promise," Hugo agreed solemnly.

"It says... It says _mudblood_," Rose said, hardly audible. "It's a really bad dirty word. Mum got it in the _war_." Her blue eyes were wide, and so were Hugo's brown ones.

"How?" Hugo asked, trying to speak as quietly as Rose.

"A bad lady did it. Bellatrix Lestrange. With a - with a knife," she explained.

"Oh," Hugo rasped. The two sat quietly for a moment, mulling it over. Then, Hermione's voice rang out over the sand.

"Come on, you two!" she called, laughing. "Let's get in the water!"

"Coming!" Rose yelled. Then she smiled at her brother. "She's happy, though. And it's better now. So it's okay."

"I believe you," Hugo replied. Without another word, the two ran off to join their parents.


	15. The Cloak

**Disclaimer: **I have no rights.

**Character: **Lily Potter, first year (2019)

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><p>She sits silently, holding her breath, trying to be as small as possible. She rolls in her lips nervously as heavy footsteps - the caretaker, Brendan Gallagher - run by, searching for her. It is her first time trying out the Invisibility Cloak, and she does not yet trust it.<p>

But Brendan does not discover her, and ten minutes later, she finally feels safe enough to make her way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Lily hides the cloak in her trunk, then rushes back downstairs and collapses on the couch, giggling insanely.

"Hey! When did you get back in?" demands James, who is waiting up for her stubbornly. "I saw you leave an hour ago, and you _definitely_ never came back. I was watching!"

"You must have fallen asleep," she sing-songs, her black hair tumbling out behind her. He stands up from the chair he's been sitting in and glares at her.

"Did not! Tell me!" he insists, but she shakes her head. She likes having a secret - especially one that will aid her in any future pranks. And she's sure there will be plenty of those.

She is, after all, her mother's daughter.


End file.
